With only a couple of squeezes of his trigger finger, the two white rhino would be dead and their horns worth more than gold would be his, making him a very rich man.

Condemned to death at the hands of a private extermination company, around 150 of the stray dogs from Sochi's Olympic Park have been saved after the intervention of a Russian billionaire.

A Japanese whaling ship is reported to have tailed an anti-whaling ship into waters off Otago against the wishes of the NZ Govt, which labelled the move 'disrespectful'.

The world has a real chance this week to halt the soaring slaughter of African elephants.

'When it first happened I was like, I'm not even getting in the bathtub again.' But surfer Darren Mills has changed his mind, after his shark encounter.

The Government should strongly censure Japan after one of its whaling vessels entered New Zealand's waters, the Green Party says.

Pet owners are paying hundreds of dollars every year for insurance to ward off expensive vet bills.

Danielle Wright has a close encounter with the South American cotton-top tamarin monkeys at the Auckland Zoo.

Auckland Zoo has bred and reared lesser short-tailed bat twins - the first time the threatened New Zealand species has been bred and hand-reared in a zoo.

'Wow, this guy's a whopper,' said experts of a 1.5m monster jellyfish that washed up on a Hobart beach last month. So what does its sting feel like?

Research by an Otago University geology student has uncovered a strange pre-Ice Age world where primitive porpoises and baleen whales roamed the North Pacific alongside comparatively modern marine mammals.

The Ministry for Primary Industries says it may never know the origin of a neurological strain of equine herpes which has so far killed seven thoroughbred horses.

A 4-week-old kitten found in a tied up plastic bag at Whangarei's Mair Park has shocked the local SPCA which wants people to take unwanted animals to its drop-off boxes.

A neurological strain of equine herpes has struck in New Zealand for the first time - killing six thoroughbred horses and infecting six others.

The flight of the bumblebee - once thought to be aerodynamically impossible - has proven to be even more scientifically astounding than previously believed.

A new finding about the domestication of camels in Israel casts doubt on the historical accuracy of some Bible stories.

If you're making the most of the potential long weekend coming up, or heading out of town at any time, Sally Hibbard wants to make sure your pet has its own holiday plans.

Burrowing bunnies have uncovered an 8,000-year old treasure trove buried near Land’s End in the United Kingdom.

They're the world's largest animal - and very elusive - so it's no wonder NIWA scientists are thrilled at the number of blue whales swimming in NZ waters right now.

More mass protests against Western Australia's shark cull were staged around the country at the weekend.

Eyes on the underwater world of New Zealand, photos by Richard Robinson. See more of his photos in this series at www.depth.co.nz.

Animal loving New Zealanders are being lured into scams by dreams of fluffy kittens and adorable puppies.

A woman who claimed she could not afford treatment for her kitten's ruptured eye has been sentenced to community service and fined.

A carload of Pomeranian dogs is among almost 200 emergency calls about animals and children locked cars dealt with by the Automobile Association so far this summer.

The death of a young bottlenose dolphin who was cut to the bone by a propeller in the Hauraki Gulf has prompted pleas for boat and jetski operators to slow down around marine mammals.

Several cows have been shot over fears a motorist could be injured or killed in a collision with one of the wandering animals.